Chapter Three
Sarah
Four Years Later
“Mommy! Mommy! Wake up!”
I groaned and attempted to pull my blanket over my head, but the rambunctious little girl in my bed didn’t allow for that. She just stuck her head under the blanket with me.
“What we doing?” she asked in a whisper.
That startled a laugh out of me, and I opened my eyes to see my favorite face in the whole world just inches in front of my own.
Alexis was the best surprise I ever got in my life.
Four years ago, after my first and only one-night stand, I spent the following weeks looking for a new job since I couldn’t stand to work for the woman my ex cheated with.
Job hunting proved to be stressful and distracting, so I didn’t notice right away when I missed my period.
It was around the two-month mark, when morning sickness kicked in, that I realized there was a possibility I’d gotten pregnant that night.
I knew it couldn’t be Jason’s because the two of us hadn’t been sleeping together at the end of our relationship.
At the time, I thought it was just a dry spell, but it turned out that he wasn’t reaching for me in the night because he was getting his pleasure elsewhere.
In the end, I was glad for that. The last thing I wanted was to be tied to that worm for the rest of my life because we shared a child.
Alexis was Dmitri’s child, and she shared his deep brown eyes.
Unfortunately, there was no way for me to share this news with him. I didn’t know anything about the man, not even his last name. All I had to go on was that he owned a construction company, if that was even true.
I didn’t even know if the company was based in New York City. Just because that was where we met, it didn’t necessarily mean he lived here. There was simply no way to find him and tell him, so I decided to devote myself to being a kickass single mom instead.
“I’m hungry,” Alexis said, pulling my mind back to the present.
“I guess we should do something about that,” I said, flinging the blanket off of us. “How about I make you a delicious bowl of spinach?”
“Eww!” she shrieked, and I laughed before tickling her sides. Teasing her like this always put a smile on my face.
“No?” I said while she laughed and squirmed wildly. “Then how about some pancakes?”
“Yes!” Alexis shouted, and I scooped her up into my arms and headed into the kitchen.
She sat on the kitchen floor playing with our long haired white cat, Marshmallow, while I whipped up some pancake batter and made her breakfast. I didn’t usually eat in the mornings, but I sat next to Alexis with my cup of coffee while she demolished her pancakes.
She managed to get syrup all over her face and arms, and I was in the process of cleaning her off when I heard the door of my apartment open.
“Good morning,” my mom called out, appearing in the doorway of the kitchen a moment later.
Her eyes took in the sight of her beloved granddaughter covered in the sticky mess of her breakfast and chuckled.
“Let me take care of that,” she said, placing her purse on the kitchen counter and taking the dishcloth from my hands. “You’d better go take a quick shower. You don’t want to be late today.”
She was right. I was usually punctual, but it was especially important today. I was going to ask for a raise, so I needed to make sure I was presenting myself in the best light.
I hadn’t had a raise since I started working at Moss Logistics.
I knew things had been tight when Mr. Moss first took me on.
We were a new company, and it takes time for business to pick up.
I was also out of action for a year on maternity leave—my boss generously paid me half wages for six months.
For that reason I’d not brought up the matter of my wages.
However, now things had settled, and I’d been working my fulltime hours for well over a year I thought it was time to address the matter.
I knew I was good at what I did, so I figured now was the time to shoot my shot.
Going to the bathroom, I hurried through a shower and got dressed in my favorite work outfit—a black blazer over a blue dress that was conservative enough to be considered professional but cut in a way that accentuated my curves and made me feel confident.
By the time I was ready to head out the door, my mom had Alexis in the living room, and they were singing along to a song from one of her favorite Disney movies.
Hearing my daughter’s sweet little voice belting out lyrics about wishing on a star in an adorably off-key tone, I couldn’t help thinking that it was fitting.
I was going into the office today with a wish of my own, and I hoped I’d come home with good news.
Life as a single mom was expensive, especially when I didn’t even get child support from the father.
“Good luck, sweetie,” Mom said as I rushed out of the apartment after kissing Alexis on the forehead.
I was lucky to have my mom around to help me with Alexis. She was a book editor, which she could do from home, so she brought her laptop to my apartment every day while I was at the office and babysat for me. Without her help, I didn’t know how I would have been able to afford childcare.
I didn’t live too far from the office of Moss Logistics, and the traffic wasn’t too bad, so I arrived a couple of minutes early. The building wasn’t big, just enough to house my boss’s personal office, a large conference room, and a much smaller space that was my own work space.
When I graduated from business school, I didn’t plan to become someone’s personal assistant. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, really, but I imagined I’d work my way into an executive position somewhere, becoming a successful businesswoman and conquering the world.
But I liked working at Moss Logistics. I liked being a personal assistant to Henry.
It kept me busy without stressing me to my limit, which I appreciated, because my priority was Alexis.
I didn’t want to work long hours or be so worried about deadlines or overbearing bosses.
When I left the office, I left my job behind until I walked through the door again the next day.
Going to my desk, I fired up my computer. While it was starting, I made my way to the little kitchen we had, which was basically the size of a storage closet and only contained a refrigerator, microwave, and a sink. And a coffee pot, of course.
I started up a fresh brew and returned to my desk, checking over my boss’s schedule for the day. I arranged all of his meetings and appointments, so I already had it memorized, but I liked to be thorough.
There were a couple of emails in my inbox I would have to address later—requests for consultations and referrals from companies he had a good relationship with.
I’d just returned to the kitchen area to grab coffee for my boss when I heard him arrive. Henry liked his coffee with just a splash of cream, so I added it and headed for his office. He was already behind his desk, just settling into his chair, when I walked into the room.
Henry Moss was in his early fifties, as was evidenced by the white streaks throughout his dark hair as at his temples. He was short and stocky, with a gut that hung over the belt of his slacks. His face was clean-shaven, and I knew he kept it that way because he thought it made him look younger.
“Morning, Sarah,” he said as I placed the coffee on the corner of his cluttered desk.
It always drove me a little crazy to see how messy he kept his workspace. I was neat and organized. It was one of the things that made me so good at keeping Henry’s life in order.
But even my best efforts to clean up his office had proven to be a waste of time.
Henry was too messy. So, I did my best to keep an orderly filing cabinet and make sure the rest of the office was in good shape.
Ignoring the mess of papers and knick-knacks on every surface in the office wasn’t easy, but I had a lot of practice.
“Good morning, Mr. Moss,” I said. “I’ve sent you your schedule for the day. You have a conference call in thirty minutes, and Mr. Harper, the CEO of the sporting goods company looking for a new shipping company, will be here this afternoon.”
Henry had been working on getting a contract with Mr. Harper for weeks, and I knew he was hoping to seal the deal soon. We were still a pretty small operation but growing every year. If he could secure the contract with the sporting goods company, it could mean great things for Moss Logistics.
“Thank you, Sarah. I’m going to take a few minutes to go over my notes about the conference call.”
I nodded and left his office. All I could think about was asking for a raise, but I didn’t think it was a good idea to do it first thing in the morning.
So, I kept myself busy with other things.
Henry closed the door of his office while he was on the conference call, and he didn’t open it again when he was done.
I knew he was going over financial reports and maintenance requests for some of our trucks that needed to be serviced, so I left him be until almost noon.
Then I took a deep breath, pulled on my big-girl panties, and knocked on his door.
“Come in,” he called out.
“I came for your lunch order,” I said. This was something I did every day, using the company credit card to pay for lunch from one of the many restaurants in this neighborhood for Henry and myself.
“I was thinking it might be nice to go to the diner on the corner. It’s been a while since we ate there. ”
Henry smiled. “Good idea. Get me a pastrami on rye with fries.” He patted his big stomach thoughtfully. “Forget the fries, have them give me a Ceasar salad instead. Oh, and get it with extra dressing.”
I didn’t bother to point out that choosing a salad wasn’t exactly a healthier option if he was going to drown the thing in salad dressing. I didn’t want to insult the man right now. I needed him well fed and in a good mood.
“No problem, Mr. Moss. But before I go, do you have a moment to talk?” I asked.
In the beginning, he’d tried to insist that I call him by his first name, but I’d never been fully comfortable with that. Eventually, he gave up on arguing about it and accepted that I would always be a little more formal than he wanted.
“Of course.” Gesturing to the single chair in front of his desk, he closed his laptop to give me his full attention. “What can I do for you?”
Nerves made my stomach feel uneasy, but I didn’t let that stop me. Straightening my spine, I held his gaze.
“I’d like to talk about a raise.”
There was a moment of silence as that statement settled between us, and Henry’s expression gave nothing away. My heart was pounding in my ears, and I bit my bottom lip nervously.
Henry let out a long exhale, his shoulders slumping, and he ran a hand down his face with a groan. I suddenly knew what his answer was going to be and disappointment washed over me.
“I’m sorry, Sarah. Shit.”
That shocked me because Henry rarely cursed, especially in front of me. He was old-fashioned and considered it rude to use that kind of language in front of a woman. It was one of his more endearing qualities.
“I knew this might happen soon,” he said with a sigh. His eyes were fixed on the desk in front of him. It was almost as if he couldn’t stand to look at me right now. “But I hoped you wouldn’t ask. At least, not yet.”
My heart sank. “You won’t give me one?”
I hated that my voice sounded so weak. I couldn’t hide that I was hurt. I might not have ever called him by his first name, but I considered us to be friends. How could he deny me this when I’d worked so hard for him?
“Look, I want to,” he said, and when his eyes finally met mine, I was shocked to see what looked like shame in their depths. “I really do. I couldn’t run this business without you. You know that.”
“But…” I trailed off, urging him to explain himself.
“Honestly, the business isn’t doing so well.”
My eyebrows jumped up in surprise. “What?”
“I’ve hidden it from you. Hell, I didn’t want anyone to know. I hoped I could get a better handle on things before I had to admit this.”
“I don’t understand. I thought things were going well. The business has been growing steadily.”
“But not quickly. We were okay for a while, but not great. Still, I hoped that if we kept getting business, we’d get there.
Then there was a big surge in freight rates a couple of months ago.
On top of that, the damn economy is going to the dogs.
Rises in fuel costs and insurance hit around the same time as the freight rate increase.
We’re still a new business, Sarah, and all of that hurt us badly. ”
A new fear struck me. “Are we in danger of shutting down?”
“No.” He answered so quickly and with a sureness that made the panic ebb a bit. “Things are getting better, I promise. I borrowed some money a few months back, which got us through the worst of times. Now, we just need to get a few big contracts, and we’ll be alright.”
“But there’s no money to give me a raise.” It wasn’t a question. I could read between the lines.
Still, Henry shook his head, looking guilty as hell. “Not right now but just give me six months. Can you do that, please? I don’t want to lose you.”
I knew how much my boss relied on me, and I didn’t want to leave him hanging.
Maybe I could make more money somewhere else, but Henry was good to me.
And I believed he’d be able to right this ship.
He might have been a messy man who hated wearing business suits, but he was a hard worker, smart, and determined. I trusted him.
“Okay,” I said, swallowing down my disappointment. “I’ll wait six more months.”